Beaches Museum Celebrates Black History Month

This February the Beaches Museum is celebrating Black History Month. We have a variety of events honoring the struggles and triumphs of African Americans at the Beaches. We hope you join us in learning more about Beaches history.

Recovering Manhattan Beach Exhibit

The Museum’s exhibit, “Recovering Manhattan Beach” will be exhibited in two locations thanks to the efforts of exhibit creator, Brittany Cohill. In addition to the exhibit being on display at the Museum, we are excited to be part of the first Black History, Art & Culture Pop-Up Museum at the Carl S. Swisher Library at Jacksonville University. The exhibit will be on display at Beaches Museum until February 26.

The memory of Florida’s first African-American beach resort in the segregated South is eroding with time. With no visible evidence remaining of a once-vibrant coastal retreat, “Recovering Manhattan Beach” uses archival sources, oral histories, and a handful of the only known existing photographs to piece together its timeline (1900-1940s). Learn how Gilded-Age expansionism led to the creation of Manhattan Beach (located at present-day Hanna Park in Jacksonville), the role Manhattan Beach played in Jacksonville’s African-American community in the early 20th century, and the factors that contributed to its demise.

Lee Kirkland Cemetery Tour with Johnny Woodhouse

February 12, 1:00 p.m.

Beaches Museum invites you to learn more about African American history at the beaches with a walking tour of the Lee Kirkland Cemetery given by local history detective Johnny Woodhouse. The tour will be on Sunday, February 12 at 1:00 p.m.

The Lee Kirkland Cemetery has been the burial grounds for the beach’s African American population for the last 100 years or more. With marked and unmarked graves it can be difficult to trace the lives of the people interred in the cemetery. Join Beaches Museum and Johnny Woodhouse in an exploration of the lost histories of the Lee Kirkland Cemetery.

This event is free to Museum members with a $5 suggested donation for non-members. Please pre-register HERE. Visit the Beaches Museum website www.beachesmuseum.org or call 904-241-5657 for further information.

Boardwalk Talk: The Civil Rights Movement in Florida

with Dr. Michael Butler

February 16, 6:00 p.m.

Join Beaches Museum for a Boardwalk Talk on “The Civil Rights Movement in Florida” by Dr. Michael Butler on February 16 at 6:00 p.m.

Dr. Butler will speak about how the past continues to inform the present in the United States, particularly in the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality.

Dr. J. Michael Butler is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of History at Flagler College, where he has taught since 2008. His work has appeared in many leading peer-reviewed academic publications, such as the Journal of American Studies, the Journal of Southern History, the Florida Historical Quarterly, and Southern Cultures. His book “Beyond Integration: The Black Freedom Struggle in Escambia County, Florida, 1960-1980” won a 2017 Florida Book Award in nonfiction. Dr. Butler specializes in southern cultural history with an emphasis on the Black freedom struggle, teaches a number of classes on the topics, and has spoken to dozens of teachers and community groups about the civil rights movement.

This event is free to Beaches Museum members with a suggested $5 donation for non-members. Please pre-register HERE. Visit the Beaches Museum website www.beachesmuseum.org or call 904-241-5657 for further information.

Chapel Concert: Mama Blue

February 23 & 24, 7:00 p.m.

The Beaches Museum is excited to present Mama Blue at the Beaches Museum Chapel! In celebration of Black History Month, Mama Blue will be performing songs written or sung by Black artists.

 Mama Blue and her crew have performed at festivals from Springing the Blues, Dancin’ in the Streets and Porch Fest in Jacksonville, to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, and at events and nightclubs across Northeast Florida and beyond. Born and raised in Jacksonville, graduating from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. She is an alumnae of Jacksonville University where she majored in vocal performance and drama after earning a scholarship. Her music is described as a sound that “fuses the elements of Nina Simone’s strength, Tina Turner’s energy, Etta James’ sass and Aretha’s soul.”

The songs that Mama Blue wrote are the core of her performances. Her songs are unsparing in their self-examination, but compassionate and supportive of those around her. Mama Blue’s originals are destined to reach an audience far beyond the area in which she has performed live.

With a signature flower in her hair as the finishing touch to her visual style, and a unique ability to reach people at the center of their souls, Mama Blue brings the warmth and understanding of an irresistibly genuine person to the stage.

Individual Advanced Tickets: $40

Chapel Concerts are held in the historic Beaches Museum Chapel. Shows start at 7:00 p.m., check in begins and refreshments are served at 6:30 p.m. Seats are first come, first serve. Tickets can be purchased HERE.